Although in many parts of the northern hemisphere it’s what we call the “off-season”, now’s a good time to renew whatever annual moorage passes or permits you normally pay for. You never know…you might end up staying overnight at one of these facilities this winter or early spring, and without your permit you’ll have to pay full price!

For me, this means it’s time to renew my Washington State Parks Annual Moorage Permit. At $3.50 per foot per year, the break-even point is just seven nights tied up to a float at any Washington State Park.

Will I stay a minimum of seven nights? Almost certainly. I did last season, and I was out of the state entirely for all of August.

See, there are plenty of Washington State Parks with floats or mooring buoys. I tend to stay at the ones with floats, since my children like to disembark and run around ashore.

Many such facilities are located in the San Juan Islands, of course, but there are also plenty to be found further south.

For the Washington State Permit, I can order online, and it arrives in the mail several days later. The hardest part is figuring out where to put the sticker when it arrives!

Actually, I’m serious about this. The instructions provided are a little unclear, but I followed them as closely as possible last year. I put my sticker on the cabin at the forward end of the port side. This seemed like what they wanted.

But when I tie up to a float, I almost always tie up starboard-side-to, and every park ranger had to ask where my permit sticker was. A few of them suggested that I put it on the side that faces the dock. “But the instructions said…”

“Yeah, I know.”

This year, I’m putting it on the starboard side. If you’re getting one, I recommend that you put it on the side that normally faces the dock, and disregard the guidelines you’ll get with your sticker. Tell ‘em Navagear said it was OK.

So consider this a friendly reminder…renew your passes and permits before the season…or the pre-season…is upon you!